Son Jeong-ui Breaks Silence, Appears Publicly After 7 Months... Will He Resume Aggressive Investments?

Son Jeong-ui to Attend Shareholders' Meeting on 21st
Stock Price Rebounds on ARM IPO Expectations
Vision Fund Investment Expected to Actively Resume

Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank Group, who had disappeared from the public eye after recording massive net losses for two consecutive years, is expected to break his silence and attend the regular shareholders' meeting after seven months. The market is focusing on whether Son can overcome the Vision Fund's deficits, SoftBank's core investment business, and succeed in a comeback.

According to Bloomberg on the 20th, Son will make an appearance at SoftBank's shareholders' meeting held on the 21st. The last time Son appeared in an official setting was at the earnings conference call for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 (July 2022 to September 2022) last November.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank Group.

In February, he announced that he would not attend the third-quarter conference call for the first time since the company's founding. At that time, SoftBank's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Yoshimitsu Goto explained that Son made this decision to focus on the Nasdaq listing of ARM, a UK semiconductor design company. However, major foreign media analyzed that it was a decision made by Son to avoid the market spotlight and investor dissatisfaction. This was because SoftBank's Vision Fund recorded a massive loss of 970.1 billion yen (9.58 trillion won) for the second consecutive year last year.

However, recently, expectations have been rising in the market that SoftBank will overcome its long-standing poor performance and succeed in a comeback. SoftBank is expected to complete ARM's listing within this year. If ARM succeeds in its Nasdaq listing, SoftBank plans to raise $10 billion in funds to ease its financial situation. Thanks to ARM's listing and the stock market's interest in AI, SoftBank's stock price has risen about 37% in three months.

Accordingly, some predict that Son will end defensive management and resume aggressive investments. Until now, the Vision Fund has discovered promising technology companies and invested large sums, but due to massive losses, investments have effectively been halted. Last year, SoftBank invested a total of $2.1 billion in eight technology companies through the Vision Fund. This is the first time that the number of investments per quarter has remained in single digits.

Moreover, SoftBank has sold stakes in holdings such as Alibaba and shifted its investment portfolio to a defensive stance to prepare for increasingly uncertain domestic and international business environments. Investment costs in startups have also been reduced by more than 90% compared to the previous year.

However, CFO Goto explained that there is a sufficient possibility that SoftBank will change its management strategy and actively pursue investments. Son has recently shown great interest in the development of AI and IT technologies. He said, "Son is so absorbed in generative AI like ChatGPT that he worries about not having enough time to sleep," adding, "Son believes his time has finally come, and this year he will test all aspects and, if he judges it safe, will take investment steps one by one."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.